Fried egg with Oregon black truffles shown at Marché restaurant in downtown Eugene. Marché chef Rocky Maselli, who will be one of the featured chefs during the Jan. 25-27 Oregon Truffle Festival in Eugene, says the best way to enjoy a truffle is to shave one over a fried egg. (Collin Andrew/The Register-Guard)

Vaucluse, France. Alba and Forcoli, Italy. Istria, Croatia. And Eugene, Oregon. These are the five best places in the world for truffle-lovers to visit, according to a 2014 Fodor’s Travel report.

And the increasingly renowned Oregon Truffle Festival, with events upcoming Jan. 24-27 in Eugene and Feb. 15-17 in Newberg and the Yamhill Valley, is an essential part of Eugene’s appeal to the world’s fungal illuminati.